REL 222 | Antisemitism and Islamophobia

This course teaches students to understand Islamophobia and antisemitism as historical, social, and cultural phenomena. It takes up both local and global examples of these phenomena. As students encounter the materials about the separate and entwined histories of these two phenomena, they will be asked to reflect on the degree to which antisemitism and Islamophobia should be considered under a shared rubric or in the same course. Embedded in this question are several historical, epistemological, and political questions: are these phenomena historically linked to the degree that they should be studied together? Can these phenomena be understood to be similar enough to one another and different enough from other forms of bias, hatred, and oppression that they should be studied together? What are the political and ethical stakes of approaching these as related topics? The course puts the classroom in relationship to the world. Students will gather information about incidents of Islamophobia and antisemitism have occurred on our campus and others. They will think critically about the links between these local cases and global cases, across time. Additionally, the course asks students to assess models that institutions, individuals, and organizations have developed to address these forms of hate. Therefore, this course asks students to critically reflect on the relationship between academic knowledge and practice in anti-bias work.